Camping with Family

Every year we go up north with Dave's Family. I wondered if Luke would get stir crazy being on a 50' x 50' campsite for 5 days but he loved it. He could do all of his favorite things and see all of his favorite people. Luke's playmate, Jacob, was camping also. Every morning Luke would wake up and ask to go see him. We are looking forward to next year already.

Up North

Every year we go up north with my family. This year we got to spend 5 days with my extended family. Luke loved waking up and asking for "Nana, Papa, Ethan, Andrew, Aaron, Sam, Bennett, Boden, Bryce, Beth." He wanted to make sure they were all still with him. We would start every day with breakfast with all 22 of us. We biked, had a hot dog roast, played games, went for a boat ride, played at the park, and many other things. Every day my family starts the day with a 7:30 am dip in the lake, including my 93 year old grandfather. He is always the first one in the cold water.

Here is part of the family breakfast; the kids are at another table on the porch. Luke enjoyed the gourmet muffins each day. We can't wait to go back next year.

Family Trip to the Beach

The blog might start to look familar to last year. Every summer we take three trips with our family. Our first was with my family this year. We had a great time walking on the beach, flying kites, riding the radio flyer, and playing with the cousins.

The above pictures show Luke's first trail run. He normally jogs around the block, to the school, to the play ground, and on nature paths by our home. I took him to a near by state park and had him jog up steep hills and over rocks and roots. Again, I love sharing my days with Luke.

6th Anniversary and 30th Birthday

Dave and I have enjoyed some time together. We have been planning to enjoy things before baby two arrives. We spent our anniversary at a wonderful bed and breakfast. It is great to spend some time only with my first love.

I also have progressed from 29 to 30. It feels good to be "experienced." For my birthday we went for a bike ride without the trailer and went to a romantic dinner on the lake.

Chicago Trip

We went to visit the Vandixhorn's in Chicago. We stayed at their condo in the south loop. The view from their patio has a great view of the traffic and the trains. Luke has asked to go back here almost every day. He really liked seeing Jake, Julie and Tom. We also went to the Shed aquarium and saw the belugia wales and penguins. Both days we were there we biked along the lake front to navy peir and beyond to the beach. We also got to enjoy the Taste of Chicago while in town.

Luke's Favorite Thing

Luke loved driving to Green Bay to see a real Thomas the Tank Engine. He loved the model trains and would have watched all day. We rode Thomas for 25 minutes around the railroad museum. Grandma and Grandpa came with to enjoy the day. The funniest thing is that Luke has watched the home video of the day out with Thomas almost every day.

I love my days with Luke

Luke loves to walk and run so I took him hiking at a near by park. I love celebrating spring with him and enjoying the outdoors. We brought his favorite things: his lamb, his wagon, and his purple blankie. Luke's longest record is running for an hour and a half straight. We started at a Delafield coffee shop, took the riverwalk, ran around the park, ran back on the boardwalk, and then Luke took off over another bridge. I was having a hard time keeping up.

Mother's Day Bike Ride

Our family rode 11 bikes and 2 scooters to a park 2 miles away from our home on Mother's Day. The kids had a great time. Luke asks to go for a bike ride with Boden, his cousin, every day. He liked having a companion in the bike trailer with him. Luke loves the bike trailer because he enjoys going fast. It is a good thing his feet do not touch the pedals of a real bike otherwise he would be biking down all the hills in our neighborhood at top speed.

Carribean Cruise

Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas
This island had a great beach to swim and relax at. Dave and I enjoyed a perfect day in the sun. We also had a great time on the boat listening to live jazz music, broadway tunes, and seeing great dancers and acrobats.

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

This was our favorite spot. It had beautiful vistas, lush foliage, and many activities. Megan's Bay is rated one of the top ten beaches in the world by National Geographic. We took a senic tour on a safari bus to see all the sites and then did a little window shopping. Dave has mentioned that we could come back here for our 10th anniversary. I will start planning today.

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Tortola was absolutely beautiful. We rented a car and toured the island. Dave successfully drove on the left side of the road around 300 degree turns up 45% hills with a map that did not have street names. We loved the mountains and ocean. We were planning on hiking at Sage Mt. National Park however we could not because of strong winds and rain. We had a great time and would love to go back.

Samana, Dominican Republic

This was Luke's first excursion over 12 foot waves in a small and fast speed boat. We took the boat to the private island below. It was beautiful, but Luke was worn out by the end of the trip.